The Relationship Formation
by HaleyMichelle18
Summary: Little snippets of our favorite couple! Anywhere from their budding friendship, to the wonderful relationship they are in now, to whatever the future may hold for them. Time to let my imagination run wild.
1. Chapter 1

**Okay, something I **_**really**_** don't need to be doing, considering I have two stories going already that both need updating (which I will try to do tomorrow!), but I couldn't stop it. The idea hit me while driving home and listening to the song, "Don't Ever Let it End," by Nickelback (great song, btw) and I started this. It will be a set of oneshots centered around moments we didn't get to see throughout the series about our favorite couple. Some will be during their relationship, some during their breakup, some during their budding friendship, and some possibly in the future. This way, any onshot ideas that randomly hit me, I can use to contribute to this! Some will be short, some will be long. Either way, they will be full of Lenny! **

**First chapter takes place somewhere in season 1.**

**Enjoy!**

With a frown on his face, Leonard reached up and attempted to discreetly scratch his scalp for what seemed like the millionth time that afternoon, moving the cap placed atop of his head aside. Now he remembered why he never wore hats. His frown deepened as the man he was sitting next to yelled, slinging his arm out, and nearly hitting Leonard in the eye with his giant foam finger. The man had already come dangerously close to spilling his beer all over the nerdy physicist. This was why he avoided these crowds. His mind was still a little confused as to why he had agreed to come, before hearing the cheering to the left of him.

Turning to face the beautiful woman next to him, he recalled the knock that came at his door the day before, followed by the woman bouncing in. She held out two tickets in her hand, asking him to accompany her. His mind had moaned and groaned, already aware that he didn't belong at any kind of stadium. He had been close to declining, when she had flashed him her radiant smile and his eyes met hers, causing his heart to jump forward and shove his brain to the side.

The next afternoon, she had knocked on his door once again. When he opened it, she stood in front of him, a blue baseball cap with the white letters LA stitched on the front, along with a matching Dodgers' jersey which fit snugly, highlighting all of her perfect curves. In her hand, she held an identical hat she claimed was for him to wear. Before he could protest, she had already slapped the cap on his head, smiling as she did so. When she proceeded to tell him how adorable he looked in it, he decided, maybe the day wouldn't be too bad.

Hours later, after having Penny explain the concept of baseball more than once, Leonard sat in the packed bleachers, a headache beginning to surface from the screaming around him. He tried to drown the noise out, tried to ignore the uncomfortable seat he was forced to sit in or the constant itchiness from the baseball cap. Instead, he began to focus on the woman next to him, cheering along with the sweaty obnoxious men surrounding them. His eyes were drawn to her smile; the same smile that had got him into this whole mess. How could he have ever said no to her?

She must have felt him staring as she faced him, a bright smile lighting up her face, obviously enjoying herself. She leaned closer to him, speaking directly into his ear, "Are you having fun?"

_Not really._ Leonard couldn't tell her that though. He chose to smile and nod for her benefit. She seemed pleased with his answer, relaxing against the back of her seat. She kept her face close to his, he noticed. He could detect the smell of her usual perfume amongst the smell of all the strangers around him. He'd probably be able to pick her out of a crowd of a thousand women. There was no doubt she was the most amazing woman he had ever laid his eyes on.

"Thank you for coming with me."

Her voice shook him from his thoughts, fighting back the blush threatening to creep up his neck. "No problem," he replied, before furrowing his brow, gaining the courage to ask her what had been on his mind the past 24 hours," How come you invited me though? You must have friends that are more educated about these events? And what about that guy you were talking to? What was his name? Jim?"

"Jake," she corrected and with a dismissal wave of her hand, she continued, "and he's long gone."

Leonard tried to keep his emotions under control. She was single once again. His heart began to accelerate, his palms grew moist. He wondered briefly just how much of a nerd he'd look like if he pulled his inhaler out of his pocket. The beefy man next to him would probably have a good laugh at that.

Managing to keep his tone neutral, Leonard kept the conversation going," Oh? What happened?"

She shrugged before answering, her eyes on the game in front of her, "I don't know. Just wasn't the right guy. Besides, "She was looking at him again, grinning, "maybe I just wanted to hang out with you, outside of the apartment, away from the other guys and all those video games and star wars-trek shows."

Leonard did his best to keep his frown at bay, but her comment stung a little. He knew it wasn't what she was used to, but _he_ still enjoyed those things. She must have noticed his face fall, because he soon felt the heat from her skin as she laid her hand on his. She gave him a gentle squeeze, and before he had time to comprehend what was happening, her lips were pressed against his cheek.

Penny quickly faced the game again, cheering as the home team got a score or touchdown or something that she had explained to him, but Leonard couldn't remember.

He could no longer fight the blush appearing across his cheeks this time or the widening smile his lips were forming. The cheering and screaming grew even louder around him. Leonard barely noticed the annoying man beside him throwing his popcorn in the air, most of it spilling in his own lap. All he could see was the incredible woman sitting next to him and the image of his lips on her skin replaying through his mind.


	2. Chapter 2

**Okay, just a short little drabble about Penny and Leonard! Set sometime in season 1 probably.**

**Thanks for the reviews everyone! Enjoy!**

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Wrapping his robe tighter around his body, Leonard stepped down the hallway as quietly as he could. He really didn't need Sheldon waking up right now. Finally reaching the front door, Leonard paused, taking a second to smooth down his wild bed head. He straightened his glasses and reached for the door knob, knowing exactly who awaited him on the other side.

Even in her inebriated state, she still managed to leave him breathless as the door swung open. Just a few minutes earlier, Leonard had been awoken by the constant ringing of his cell phone. Once he had fully came to, he was shocked to see five missed calls, all from Penny, and one text message. He quickly navigated to his texts, becoming more confused as he read the message from Penny, begging him to come out into the hallway.

Not even bothering to look at the time, he'd probably just hate himself if he did, Leonard had climbed out of bed in search of answers. It was Saturday night. He had known Penny had plans with some of her girlfriends, probably drinking and dancing; judging by the slightly misspelled words in her messages, there had definitely been drinking.

And so here he stood, in his robe, in the middle of the night, with Penny in his doorway, hair pinned up off of her shoulders in what looked like, to Leonard at least, a complicated hairstyle. It took all of his strength to keep his eyes on hers and not drifting lower. The short red dress she wore did nothing to help with his struggle, accenting every part of her body.

"Leonard!"

Leonard jumped at her sudden outburst, frantically shutting the door behind him. He really didn't need Sheldon waking up to a drunken Penny. "Shhh," he tried to calm her, "What's going on?"

"What's going on?" Penny repeated, apparently shocked at his confusion, "Leonard, look at the time!"

He fumbled in his robe pocket, finally fishing out his phone. "12:06 in the morning?"

Penny stepped closer, a grin overtaking her entire face, "Leonard," she paused for what he assumed was dramatic effect, "it's my birthday!"

Leonard's brows furrowed as he glanced at his phone again, registering the date flashing across the screen. He felt the corners of his mouth tugging upwards. She was right. Before he had time to respond, his hand was grasped in hers and he was being led across the hall.

"Wait-wait-where are we going?"

Penny stopped in her tracks, turning to face him with a frown instantly replacing her smile. Her bottom lip stuck out in a childish pout that he should have found immature, yet, on her, was quite possibly the cutest thing he had even seen. "You don't want to hang out on my birthday? I came home early."

Leonard wanted to remind her of the time, wanted to remind her of the wacky roommate he had to deal with in the morning, but one look at her and all of that disappeared; he'd cross those bridges when he came to them. Right now his beautiful neighbor wanted to spend time with him, had come home early to see _him._ "No, of course I want to," he reassured her, pointing to the door behind him, "I just need to grab something from the apartment. "

His hand fell from hers and, within a second, Leonard missed the warmth. It wasn't until his eyes met hers and he saw the twinkle there and the smile lighting up her face once again did that warmth flow throughout his body.

"Okay, hurry!" Penny replied, fumbling to unlock the door to apartment 4B.

Leonard waited until he was sure Penny had made it safely into her place, before returning to his own. He hurried down the hall to his room, his white socks skidding across the hardwood floor.

Once inside his bedroom, his eyes found the neatly wrapped gift sitting on his bedside. He was planning on giving it to Penny later that day, preferably during daylight, but now worked too. He quickly grabbed it, prepared to retreat back out the way he'd rushed in, when he caught sight of his reflection in the mirror. Chewing on his bottom lip, he took a second to consider his options while his hands shuffled through his drawers of clothing before finally emerging with a clean shirt and blue pants. With one last glance in the mirror before him, Leonard smoothed out the green material across his chest and ran a hand through his hair. Satisfied with the outcome, he exited the room.

Leonard knocked gently at her door, waiting patiently. When the door opened, he was face to face with Penny again, the red dress and heels now gone, replaced with a pink camisole and a pair of purple Hello Kitty pajama pants. She still looked stunning.

He walked in and sat down on her couch. He tried not to stare as her hand reached up, pulling a few pins from her hair and allowing her golden locks to fall and rest on her shoulders. She joined him on the couch and his heart rate sped up. Swallowing past the lump in his throat, Leonard held out the present in his hand. "Here," he said, his voice wavering slightly, "I got you something for your birthday."

In an instant, her hands accepted the gift. "Awh, Leonard!" she exclaimed, eagerly tearing at the wrapping. "The box set of Sex and the City!"

"Every season," Leonard pointed out, "I knew you said it was your favorite show."

Suddenly, Leonard felt the room spin as Penny lunged forward, her arms around him and hugging him tight. After two Mississippi's, she released him and jumped off the couch. "Let's watch one!" she screamed, nearly tripping over her own feet in her drunken and excited state.

Realizing just how happy she was, whether it be because of the gift or the alcohol messing with her head, Leonard mentally patted himself on the back for coughing up the hundred dollar bill in order to buy this for her. When she sat back down beside him after pressing play on the DVD player, he knew no amount of money in the world would stop him from trying to make her smile even a little.

His breath hitched as she scooted closer to him, laying her head on his left shoulder. He pleaded with himself to remain calm. _Be cool, be cool,_ he repeated in his mind over and over. He begged whatever Gods existed to keep the sweaty palms and trouble breathing at bay, especially since he had left his inhaler in apartment 4A and there was _no way_ he was leaving right now.

Taking a deep, albeit shaky, breath, Leonard decided to risk talking, "Penny?" She raised her head to look at him, "Happy birthday." She flashed a magnificent smile his way and his stomach did a back flip.

This girl was going to be the death of him, but, Leonard felt himself smiling back at her, at least he'd die happy.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Sorry everything is taking so long to get posted. Some mornings, I just don't feel like writing, especially after working the night before and no sleep. Anyway, my updates might take a tad bit longer now; usually I write a little each morning before work, then finish everything up on my days off, but, unfortunately for the stories and fortunate for my friends and family, my next few days off are going to be filled up with plans. Finally get a weekend off! Woo!**

**Okay, without further-a-do, here's chapter 3! This one takes a LONG jump ahead to Season 6 this time. I'll go back and fill in other seasons as well, none of these are connected line in my other stories. Just little ideas running through my mind.**

**Enjoy!**

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Rushing down the stairs, Penny took the steps two at a time. The walls began to close in around her; her palms began to grow sweatier as the seconds passed. Her thoughts ran through her mind at a thousand miles an hour and she wondered briefly if this is what it felt like to be inside Leonard's head.

Right as she made it to the second floor landing and took another step forward, her legs feeling like jelly, she felt the ground slip out from under her and, soon, she was stumbling to the ground. Her hands instinctively landed in front of her, catching her and preventing her head from hitting the hard floor. Unfortunately, that did nothing to protect her knees from colliding.

With a groan, Penny moved from the floor, leaning her back against the door to 2A behind her, praying they weren't home at the moment. She slid the bottom of her work uniform up just an inch, grimacing at the bloody scrapes on both knees. Gritting her teeth and closing her eyes, she took a shaky breath, begging her nerves to calm down.

Just minutes earlier, Penny had been standing between apartments 4A and 4B. She had been shouting at Leonard, once again arguing over his insecurities in their relationship. She didn't understand how he couldn't see it. She wanted _him. _She cared deeply for _him._ _She_ _loved him._

Penny's eyes popped open as the memory hit her like a baseball to the face. The words had slipped past her lips before she had time to even register what she was saying. She vaguely remembered the smile on her face and the warm feeling flowing through her body. She barely had time to focus on those things when the fear had crept back up, showing it's ugly face and handing her the bricks to start building up her walls again.

Then she had ran.

Her heart sank. What kind of person confessed their love and then ran away? Apparently a really messed up one.

Angry at herself, she began to bang her head back against the door it rested on, not giving a damn about the occupants inside. She knew she should be on her way to work, but she also knew just how terrible of a waitress she was and she wouldn't be missed. All that was on her mind at the moment was Leonard; she hoped she hadn't hurt him, hoped he understood.

_Leonard._

How long had this been going on now? How long had she had these feelings and refused to admit them?

Her mind wandered back to three years earlier; there first try at a relationship. They had only been dating for about six months. Her shift at work that day had been long. Her head had been pounding and she had barely been able to put one foot in front of the other, but, by the time she had reached her car, her day had gotten much better. There, pinned between the wiper blade and windshield wiper, sat a single red rose. There wasn't a note, but one wasn't needed. After the snowflake from the North Pole, the plane ticket to fly home to see her family, and everything else he did for her, she knew exactly who it was from. As she had lifted the flower to her nose and inhaled the sweet scent, she couldn't help but think that she loved this man.

The flower had slipped from her fingers suddenly, fluttering to the ground. Brow furrowed and a frown expanding across her face, she wondered where that thought had come from. Yeah, he did sweet things; yeah he was an amazing guy; but did she really love him? After just six months?

She had quickly gathered the flower in her hands and drove home. She had hesitated outside of Leonard's door. She knew he was asleep already, but that had never stopped her before. Instead of tiptoeing down the hallway and climbing into bed with him, her head resting on his chest as his arms would wrap around her, like they always did, the thoughts racing through her mind and the anxiety bubbling up inside her forced her to turn, hide the rose away in the box buried in her closet, and sleep alone that night. She had managed to push that fear to the back of her mind, to forget about that little slip, for the next few months.

Until Leonard said it.

Her world had crashed around her. She couldn't bring herself to say the words back and it cost her the most important person in her life.

Luckily, they had found their way back to each other, had gotten pass the awkwardness of their breakup and settled for being friends.

Then _it_ happened; Then _she_ happened. Another woman had come along and swept Leonard up, right in front of her. Then, the woman had the audacity to _ban_ her from the guy's apartment. What had hurt her most though was Leonard actually agreeing to it. She worried she had lost him for good and a different kind of fear burned through her. She had wondered if the feelings rolling through her veins, the pain she felt from watching him kiss a woman that wasn't her, and the jealousy that took over and led her to more drinking actually meant something bigger. Maybe she did really love him..and she had missed her chance.

Somehow, by the grace of God, she had gotten him back. They had fought through their struggles and hardships that came in the form of drunken incidents, bug reports, and spontaneous proposals. Just a month after the night Raj had demanded she confess her love and she, once again, refused, Penny had stood in Leonard's lab. Her boyfriend had been explaining..well..something about the universe. There had been a cool hologram, causing her to gasp and grin like a small child seeing a magic trick, but what had amazed her the most, had been Leonard. His face had been filled to the brim with excitement, his eyes overflowing with passion for his work, and it was then, in her boyfriend's cramped lab, that Penny had _really_ felt _it. _She had repeated the words over and over in her head, begged and pleaded with her brain to just get the words out, but nothing had come. She was still unable to form the words she knew he desperately wanted to hear. So, instead, she told him in the only way she could, ordering him to remove his clothes. As he held her close and she stared into his eyes, she hoped he could see it in her own eyes.

And now? Now she had finally gotten those three words out. It wasn't how she had pictured, not in any way; but did that really matter? Did Leonard need the flowers, the candles, the romance? Would that make a difference to him or not? Or had she screwed up by not waiting, not planning the moment better?

Her heart suddenly dropped into her stomach. Her hand quickly fished the phone from her pocket. Frowning, she noticed an unread message. She slid her finger across the screen, unlocking it, and navigated to her messages. One from Leonard with just four words.

'_I love you, too.'_

Penny felt all the tension leave her body with that one sentence. Her heart rate began to slow and she released the breath she had been holding, while whispering to the abandoned hallway, "He loves me, too."

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**A/N: I don't own Big Bang Theory and I don't own the 'stages of falling in love' from How I Met Your Mother which are: 1. The moment when you think it. 2. The moment when you think you know it. 3. The moment when you know you know it, but you just can't say it. 4. The moment when you know you know it, but you can't keep it in any longer.**

**Hope you enjoyed this little glimpse inside Penny's mind! I enjoy reviews!**


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